Rug Gripper and Gross Motor Skills

I have found that visual cues can really help children when practicing gross motor skills.  Things like poly spots or cones are great for some kids but sometimes you need a little something extra.  Pictured above are the feet from Proprioceptive Poems.  These feet are great to provide that extra visual cue as to where […]

Interventions for Developmental Coordination Disorder

Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology published a research review on the efficacy of interventions to improve motor performance in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD).  Twenty six studies were included in the review.  Interventions were placed into four different types: 1) task-oriented intervention, (2) traditional physical therapy and occupational therapy, (3) process-oriented therapies, and (4) […]

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Ankle Ligaments in Children with Hemiplegia

The Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine published research comparing lateral ankle ligaments between the unaffected and affected leg in children with spastic hemiplegia cerebral palsy. Eight children with a mean age of 5.2 years old underwent sonograms of the anterior talofibular ligament and calcaneofibular ligament and the anterior talofibular/calcaneofibular ligament thickness ratio was calculated. In […]

Online Pediatric Occupational Therapy

Online occupational therapy, in particular, for whatever reason remains to be a hard topic for schools and the special education community to grasp. To address these concerns, Rosemarie Helton participated in a brief Q&A with Your Therapy Source about online occupational therapy and online therapy in general. Rosemarie Heltonis a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist […]

Sporting Opportunities at School for Students with Disabilities

The US Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, has issued a letter based on a report performed by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) which highlighted that access to, and participation in, extracurricular athletic opportunities provide important health and social benefits to all students, particularly those with disabilities. The letter provides an overview of […]

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Fingertip Tripod Grip Dot Markers

Make these resusable fingertip dot markers for about $2 using furniture tips and small sponges.  The furniture tips come in different diameters so you can vary the size based on the child’s abilities and hand size.  Watch the video on how to make them and see them in action at YourTherapySource.  The printed sheets in the […]

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Disorganization, Coordination Disorder and ADHD

The Journal of Child Neurology published research on the association of attention deficit and disorganization in boys with and without specific developmental disorder of motor function. The study included four groups of 120 boys ages 7-12: 1.) disorganization plus coordination 2.) coordination disorder 3.) disorganization 4.) control.  The results indicated a significantly increased rate of […]

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Achondroplasia and Gross Motor Skill Development

The Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health published research on the gross motor skill development of children with achondroplasia.  A population based study was done on children with achondroplasia ages 12 months to 48 months in Australia and New Zealand from 2000 through 2009. The results indicated that children with achondroplasia exhibit delays in gross […]

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Exercise Program for Non Ambulatory Children with CP

Clinical Rehabilitation published research on 35 children with a gross motor classification system levels IV-V who participated in a 6 week exercise program.  The subjects were randomly placed to participate in a stationary bike group, treadmill group or control group. After the 6 week intervention significant differences were found in GMFM-88D scores between the bike […]